Murray Bridge council watch: When will the town’s other entrances get done up?

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It would be nice to improve the two main roads leading into Murray Bridge from the north and east, councillors have agreed – but the time is not yet.

Three years have passed since much-needed revamps of Adelaide Road and Swanport Road were finished, offering a much more positive first impression to visitors and locals alike.

So, back in March, Cr Andrew Baltensperger asked the question: what about Mannum Road and the Old Princes Highway?

Upgrading both entrances could cost something close to $800,000, the council’s city assets manager advised at councillors’ November meeting.

That amount would pay for paths and pedestrian lighting along Mannum Road; and a replacement of the welcome wall on the east side, plus native plantings all the way from the bridge up to Mitchell Avenue.

The staff member advised against rushing into any upgrades, warning that residents would expect any work to be on par with Adelaide Road and Swanport Road.

All the councillors agreed.

“I’m not a fan of half-done jobs,” Cr Airlie Keen said.

Councillors will next have a chance to consider including the upgrades in the council’s 2025-26 budget, which will be drafted in the first half of next year.

Basketballers get new backboards, and a swipe from a councillor

Meanwhile, councillors have voted in favour of advancing a $13,500 payment to the Murray Bridge Basketball Association ahead of an upcoming grant round.

The MBBA had planned to replace the backboards on its courts over two stages, to fit within council grant guidelines, and had already been granted funds for the first stage.

But a contractor advised that it would be up to $4000 cheaper to do the whole job at once.

Fair enough, councillors agreed.

Although the relationship between the council and MBBA has been strained since last year’s failed attempt to get a new stadium built, staff noted that the council had put nearly $80,000 towards basketball facilities upgrades since 2015, and had carried out more than $360,000 worth of maintenance work.

Cr Karen Eckermann agreed that the city’s basketballers had benefited more from council funding than any other sporting group.

“Our council has been extremely generous to the MBBA,” she said.

“It would be nice if we were represented appropriately in the press for what we have actually done for them.”

Gymnasts’ funding request declined

Councillors have turned down a request from Murray Bridge’s gymnasts for $50,000 worth of support as they continue with efforts to build a new home.

The Murraylands Gymnastics Academy has had some support from the council since being forced out of its Thomas Street premises for nearly a year, including $20,000 worth of funding and support for a $1.5 million federal grant application.

But councillors decided this month that the latest request was a bridge too far.

The funding would have been conditional: if the academy missed out on the federal Play Our Way grant, its backup plan was to apply for a lesser amount from the state government’s Community Recreation and Sporting Facilities Program.

Applicants to the Play Our Way program – including the gymnastics academy and the Imperial and Jervois netball clubs – are still waiting to hear whether they have been successful.

Sturt Reserve loading ramp will go

Finally, if you’ve ever wondered why there is a loading ramp leading to a garden bed on Murray Bridge’s riverfront, you’re not alone.

Council staff recently realised that the ramp – built around the turn of the century – was never formally entered onto an asset database, had never been maintained and was almost never used anyway.

Considering the risk it posed to anyone who might stumble over the edge of it, councillors voted this month to have metal plates removed, better chains installed to block it off, and a sign put up to warn of the hazard.

The alternative would have been spending about $65,000 of ratepayers’ money to fix it up.

The ramp was originally installed to unload lawnmowers and other machinery from a flat-bed truck.

It may be removed entirely as part of a future upgrade of Sturt Reserve.

Quote of the month

“Better luck next time to Mayor (David) Leach from Mount Barker and the Honourable Rebekha Sharkie, who were left in our dust.”

–Mayor Wayne Thorley, reflecting on the relative success of he and Cr Airlie Keen in a celebrity chocolate cake competition at the Callington Show